Bronco Baseball Announces Recruiting Class of 2016

Jan 17, 2012

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara baseball has announced the recruiting class of 2016, the first under new head coach Dan O'Brien and his coaching staff. The class includes eight new players coming to the Mission Campus with five coming from California, two from Washington state and one from Colorado.

"This is a very special class for Bronco baseball," said O'Brien. "They are an incredibly talented group of young ballplayers who will represent our new generation of Bronco baseball with class and professionalism. More importantly, however, they are outstanding young men. We are building something special here at Santa Clara and surrounding ourselves with great human beings is our number one priority. We have, without question, accomplished that goal with this impressive group. The future of a Bronco Baseball is very bright."

"I cannot say enough about the job that our entire coaching staff is doing," continued O'Brien. 'The recruiting starts with Gabe Ribas, our recruiting coordinator, and Eddie Smith, who assists Coach Ribas. They have been tirelessly working to find the right ballplayers for our program's vision. However, it's also been a complete team effort. The entire coaching staff has been 100% invested in our efforts to bring in future WCC Champions. I am so proud and thankful to be a part of something so great."

Meet the Bronco Class of 2016:

Kert Woods Buhach Colony High School Atwater, Calif. As a junior made Northern CA National Team Identification Series Team (NTIS) ... First Team All-League SS ... All-Area First Team (Merced County) ... All-District Large School First Team ... led league in BA (.459), OBP (.592), Runs Scored (32) ... led league and section in SB (39), good for10th in CA ... as a sophomore was Second Team All-League SS ... Superintendent Award 2010 for work in the classroom ... parents Donald and Vicki Woods ... brother Kory.

Casey Munoz Palomar College San Diego, Calif. In 2011 at Palomar College was First-Team All-Pacific Coast Athletic Conference ... First Team All-State ... junior college First Team All-American ... Academic Dean's List at Palomar College ... All-League at Cathedral Catholic High School.

Jose Vizcaino The Francis Parker School San Diego, Calif. Played four years of varsity baseball ... as a junior made California All-State Team ... All-CIF Second Team ... All-League First Team ... San Diego Union Tribune Athlete of the Week in City Conference Tournament, going 7-12 with seven RBI's, seven runs, five stolen bases ... led the team in batting .464 and had 43 RBI's, .762 slugging and 14 stolen bases ... hit game-tying homerun in semi-finals ... team went 15-0 to start season ... played with Seattle Mariners Scout Team in the fall of junior year ... Honor Roll student every year with 4.05 GPA ... father Jose played 17 season in the Major Leagues with eight teams ... mother Jessica ... siblings Jonathan and Gabriela.

Kyle Cortopassi Saint Mary's High School Stockton, Calif.
2011 Tri-City California First Team All League ... 2011 San Joaquin County First Team All Area ... back-to-back high school Sectional Champions 2010 and 2011 ... Rawlings Nor Cal World Series All-Tournament Team 2011 ... four year member of St. Mary's High School National Honor Society ... mother Maureen ... father Tom ... siblings Joey and Conner.

Paddy O'Brien Miramonte High School Orinda, Calif. Three year varsity at Miramonte High School ... junior year batted .417 ... All Tournament Team Fort Bragg Invitational ... All-East Bay Team Catcher ... First Team All-League DFAL Catcher ... as a sophomore was Honorable Mention DFAL DH ... starter on Miramonte NCS Champion Team ... parents Mike and Suzi ... siblings Molly, Katie and Fiona.

Reece Karalus Mount Si High School Snoqualmie, Wash. As a Junior led his high school to win a state championship ... threw an eight inning shutout to win the conference championship ... starting pitcher in the state championship ... named a Bobby Valentine All-American ... Perfect Game All-American Honorable Mention ... played fall ball for the Seattle Mariners scout team ... has been clocked at 93 mph ... as a Sophomore at Mount Si High School led conference in ERA (1.25) ... set a school record in saves in a season ... All-Conference honorable mention as a pitcher and a catcher ... hit a homerun in his first high school varsity at bat ... during the summer he threw a complete game with 17 strikeouts later that month threw his first complete game no hitter ... parents Karen and Mark ... brother Bryce.

Steven Wilson Dakota Ridge High School Littleton, Colo. Three year letter ... as a junior was First-Team All-Conference ... Team USA Mountain West ... Team Colorado ... 2-0 in Junior Sunbelt Classic ... played in the 2011 Futures Games at Coors Field with the top 25 Juniors and Seniors in Colorado. Academic All-State Honorable Mention ... 4.0+ Honor Roll... as a sophomore was Honorable Mention All-Conference ... 4.0 Honor Roll ... mother Debra ... father Robert ... step-mother Kate ... brothers Brandon, Michael, Greg, Nick and Spencer.

Peter Hendron Redmond High School Redmond, Wash. Earned six letters: three each in baseball and basketball… as a junior hit .397 with four homeruns and 27 RBIs ... Second-Team All-Kingco 4A outfielder ... posted a 2.23 ERA for his summer team Chaffey Baseball ... named to the Baseball Northwest All-Tournament team in August of 2011 ... received the 2011-2012 Kingco 4A Sportsmanship award ... a National Honor Society member with a 3.84 GPA ... hobbies include piano and ping-pong.